Our website uses cookies and other technologies so that we can remember you and understand how you and other visitors use our website. By continuing to browse this Site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy, including how you may control the information we collect about you through cookies.Read MoreAccept

CASE STUDY: THE EDGE

Key Information

Client

Location

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Topline

Property management of a 40,000 square meter office building that achieved the highest sustainability score of any project in history

Opportunity

The Edge is certifiably the cleanest and most connected large office space in the world. Designed for the global financial firm and primary tenant Deloitte, the Amsterdam high rise officially opened in the heart of the financial center in 2015. The Edge offers a radically new working environment, earning it then the highest BREEAM new construction score ever recorded by the Building Research Establishment (BRE), the global assessor of sustainable buildings.

The building integrates an array of smart technology and adaptable work spaces to encourage collaboration and promote sustainability. Some 6,000 Ethernet-powered, LED-connected lights measure occupancy, movement, lighting levels, humidity and temperature on a continuous basis. Every worker can connect to the building via a smartphone app — to find a parking space, customize temperature and light in their workspace, track their progress in the building’s gym or find an open desk.

Some 2,500 Deloitte workers share 1,000 desks under a concept known as “hot desking.” Workers can choose a work booth, a meeting room, a “concentration room” or a sitting, standing or balcony desk—depending on their needs that day. Ubiquitous flat screens can be synced wirelessly with any phone or laptop.

As for sustainability, the developer installed solar panels across the south façade and on neighboring buildings, allowing The Edge to produce more energy than it consumes. Rainwater is collected to flush toilets and irrigate terraces and gardens. An aquifer thermal energy storage, located some 130 meters underground, generates all of the energy required for heating and cooling. Waste generated by each user is tracked and charged by weight, encouraging conservation. On days when a portion of the building is not being used, it can be shut down, saving on heating, cooling, lighting and cleaning costs. The parking lot has dozens of charging stations for electric vehicles and large spaces to store bicycles. Bloomberg has called The Edge “the most fully realized vision of the Internet of Things the world has ever seen.” But the building’s sophisticated technology required an enhanced approach to property management—one that could accommodate the cutting-edge systems and processes, and analyze and act on reams of big data generated by the building and its occupants.

Solution & Outcome

Deka Immobilien acquired the building in October 2014 and hired CBRE Asset Services to manage the property based on their global experience with high-profile green buildings, and their proactive approach to building management. In addition to standard property management services, CBRE is constantly measuring, monitoring and analyzing energy consumption patterns and data, making periodic adjustments to maintain balance usage and a comfortable building environment. CBRE also implemented a new waste and environmental policy in all the service contracts, work permits and in the tendering and procurement processes to help more effectively manage waste output. Daily waste management includes collecting, weighing and registering garbage per occupier and per tenant in order to constantly look for opportunities to better the building’s footprint. Finally, CBRE appointed an ecology officer to carry out periodic checks and find ways to continually improve the ecological environment in the building and the direct surroundings.

1/5

“The Edge sets a new global benchmark for modern work environments. Besides an elegant timeless design and a fantastic location, the building functions-due to its unique sustainable and technological concept-as a positive statement for the corporates that are located in the building. This combination of attractive elements makes it a privilege to have The Edge for the Global Fund in our Dutch portfolio.”

“It’s a complex building requiring augmented processes and procedures. We have to go one step beyond our standard ways of operating, not only taking good care of a very complex building but really catering to the needs of individual occupants with a variety of added services. Deloitte has seen a drastic rise in job applications, which it credits to quality of the work environment.”

Arnoud Bloemendaal, Director, Property Management, Netherlands, CBRE

“As they say, you can’t manage what you do not measure – but in this case it works the other way around: If you measure a lot of things you must continuously find ways to manage and analyze the data, and determine what you can use to improve the building. We are using the data not only to manage the building to the highest standard today, but to establish models for predictive maintenance that anticipate needs into the future.”